Great Seal of Lithuania

The Great Seal of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos didysis antspaudas; Polish: pieczęć wielka litewska) was a state seal (sigillum regni) with a full legal force (sigillum authenticum) of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Great Lithuanian Seal functioned since 16th century until 1795 and the fall of the state.

The seal was held in the custody of the Lithuanian chancellor; only he was permitted to use it, and he was not allowed to make it available to anyone else. Vice-chancellor held Lesser Seal of Lithuania. Both the chancellor and the vice-chancellor were regarded as guardians of the laws. They could not seal documents without the ruler’s consent, but they were obliged to refuse to affix the Lithuanian seals to any documents that would violate the laws or act to the detriment of the state. Without the affixing of a Lithuanian seal, such documents were invalid.

The seal was associated with the person of the ruler. Upon the monarch’s death, the chancellor broke the seal during the funeral ceremony. During the interregnum, he did not use the seal, as his authority was suspended. A new seal was made after the election of a new ruler. In the event of the chancellor’s death, his family returned the seal to the king.

After concluding the Union of Lublin in 1569 which established the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, a federative real union state, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania remained a separate state and the Great Seal of Lithuania was preserved, together with a separate territory, central offices, laws, etc. During the period of the union’s conclusion, despite the claims of the Crown chancellery, the practice was established of affixing only the Lithuanian seal to royal documents addressed to the Grand Duchy. In the hierarchy of the state seals of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, it ranked below the king’s majestic seal, on a par with other state seals: the Great and Lesser Crown Seals as well as the Lesser Lithuanian Seal, and above the ruler’s signet seals. There was no single, unified state seal of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Documents confirmed by the great seals were more prestigious.

As a rule, the division of competencies was observed, and acts pertaining solely to the Grand Duchy could be confirmed only with Lithuanian seals. Documents concerning the entire state were sealed by the dignitary who was at the ruler’s side, in accordance with the hierarchy. When the ruler was present in the territory of the Grand Duchy, the Lithuanian chancellor was at a top of it. From 1589, documents addressed to Livonia were to be issued under two seals, the Crown and the Lithuanian, due to the province’s subordination to both the Crown and Lithuania.

For example, Stephen Báthory, a King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, sought to establish the Vilnius University by granting a privilege to the Jesuits College of Vilnius in 1578, however at the time the Grand Chancellor of Lithuania was Mikołaj Radziwiłł the Red of Reformed Christianity faith who refused to confirm Báthory's privilege, establishing a Catholic university, with the Great Seal of Lithuania, therefore Báthory's another privilege regarding the Vilnius University came into force only in 1579 when the Lithuanian Vice-chancellor Eustachy Wołłowicz confirmed it with the Lesser Seal of Lithuania under pressure of Báthory. Moreover, the resolutions of the Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took effect in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania only when they were confirmed by the Grand Chancellor of Lithuania with the Great Seal of Lithuania.